Train History

The first steam locomotive was made in 1797 by Richard Trevithick in Great Britian. However, Railways were made more than two centries prior in 1550. These Railways were named "wagonways" and were made for horses pulling wagons on dirt road, which in turn made it easier. Going back to late 1700's / early 1800's, the invention of steam engines skyrocketed around the world. In the mid to late 1820's, railways were starting to be commercialized in England and the first public railway was built in 1823. Around the same time, George Stephenson's locomotive "Rocket" won a competition to see the competance and speed of steam engines. George also made the LOCOMOTIVE No. 1 which pulled 90 tons at 15 mph. These two trains would show the world the greatness of steam engines. By 1848, Britain had 2,440 miles of railroads intertwined with eachother. The USA saw the success of these trains and thought "man that would be cool", so they started building their own. Their fist engine was created in 1830 but decided to blow up 1931. The train sensation would spread like wildfire and grow at an increadible rate around the world.

Jumping forward a bit, on New Years Eve 1863, London made the very first underground railroad. This would give birth to what we call the subway. The USA was making their own big project while the British made the subway. America made the first trancontinental railroad fittingly named The Trancontinental Railroad. This titan of track connected centeral USA to the Pacific Ocean. Another important character named George Westinghouse made the first automatic air brake and quickly became the main brake for future trains. A couple years later, Germany wanted to make an impression on the locomotive industry so they decided to make electric trains. Werner von Siemens was the main man of this opperation and designed a third rail to supply electricity to the train. He also developed the first tram line in Berlin on 1881. However, America got jealous of Germany and created the first electric tram rail system in Richmond, Virgina on 1888. London also saw what the two other counrties were doing and adopted it into their subway in 1890.

Stepping into the 20th century, diesel engines started popping up in Sweden in 1913. Throughout the next couple of decades diesel locomotives would overtake their steam counterparts. In fact the last use of a steam engine that was not for tourist or train enthusiest was 1983 and it was the 0-4-0T #13 (picture above). Germany inventor, Hermann Kemper, created and patented a train system that used magnetic levitation in 1937. America also developed a new train type with it's diesel-electric train on New Years Eve, 1960. In 1964, Japan wanted to get in on the fun and made a very lasting impact with their bullet train. Bullet trains at the very early stages could reach speeds up to 100 mph or 160 kph. They get this fast thanks to maglev technology causing little to no friction. France saw what Japan was doing and made their own high speed train called the TGV back in 1979. It's top speed was 186 mph or 300kph. Many other countries joined in the speed race, however, the crown of fastest train is currently held by China with their Shanghai Maglev train that goes at a speed of 286 mph or 460 kph. China also holds the record for largest metro system since 2010.

Currently, most train are mainly diesel, diesel-electric, and electric. Most steam engines now are preserved and just show a glimpse of what once was the glamorous metal titans of the past. Hundreds if not thousands of museums are dedicated to keeping the keystone of modern day transportation alive and sometimes active. Most of the time out in the suburbs and country side you'll see a diesel engine hauling large amounts of freight. Towards the city and urban, you'll see more of electric trains transporting people around town. Electric-diesel locomotives will be found in the city and subarbs. Newer and faster trains will continue to be developed and more new ground breaking kinds of trains will be introduced. As the railroad industry continues to expand we can only wait to see what the next great locomotive will be.